Clarion trustees recommend 2 finalists for university president

Clarion University’s Council of Trustees voted Friday to recommend two candidates for university president to the Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, according to a news release from the school.

The council recommended the board consider David Urban, dean of the Jennings A. Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University, and Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, dean of the College of Education and Human Services at Central Michigan University.

Urban, according to the release, has served as chief academic and administrative officer for Jones College of Business since 2013. The school serves 3,100 students, has 150 faculty and staff and an operating budget of $22 million.

Urban, the release said, has led strategic planning, administrative structure and processes, and academic affairs. He also oversaw construction of a new advising center.

Pehrsson, a dean and professor at Central Michigan since 2012, is responsible for initiating new programs; international expansion; global/distance education; and advancement of scholarship, research and creative activity, the release said.

She oversees an annual budget of $40 million and supervises five large academic units, according to the release. She also serves on national, regional, state, university, college and community committees.

Urban and Pehrsson were among four candidates who visited Clarion last week. The Board of Governors and the interim chancellor will interview Urban and Pehrsson.